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Music you need when you are cooking

What are you listening to? For me it's the Danger Mouse, Danielle Luppi collaboration featuring Jack White and Norah Jones; "Rome". Recorded in Rome using musicians who used to work with Ennio Morricone. It's basically a spaghetti western soundtrack without the western. Other times it's Manu Chao (when I REALLY need to get amped up) or my LA Homies, Los Lobos.

What music do you cook with? Anyone who say's Kenny G or Stevie Nicks immediately get's their house toilet papered.

Hear hear!
Depends on my mood. Pensive and doing detail work--icing a cake or doing veggie prep--I might choose Gillian Welch or even Fleet Foxes, but when I'm hitting it hard it's Amon Tobin, Aphex Twin, and perhaps the Black Keys. I do have Nina Simone phases, too. How could you not?

Lately Neil Young Radio on Pandora has been scratching some deep nostalgic itch that works perfectly for me in the kitchen. But sorry, Pierino, "Landslide" came on once on that station and I'm not afraid to admit I enjoyed hearing it (but OK, it's probably the only Stevie Nicks song I would have enjoyed hearing).

Right now, I'm making cookies and getting ready to braise roast a chicken to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, and St. Vincent. Pork dumplings or gnocchi beg for Amon Tobin, Infected Mushroom, Ghostland Observatory, or Ozzy Osbourne. Beer Bread is Of Monsters and Men all the way. Pasta needs Puccini. Soup, quiche, or puddings usually require Édith Piaf. If I'm experimenting and I don't know whether it's going to turn out edible, I'll need School of Seven Bells, Simon and Garfunkel, Fleet Foxes, or Ella Fitzgerald. Stew with Bob Dylan. I wash dishes to the Beatles.

How could I forget the Velvet Underground? Especially "Sunday Morning" while you are making breakfast. Or, "I'm Waiting for the Man" when your newspaper is late. "First thing you learn is that you've always got to wait."

I usually use music of the country I am cooking. For Italian I will go with Pavoratti etc., French perhaps some baroque classical or "cafe'" music. Portugese cataplana would be fado music. For burgers I would go with E street band. Crawfish means Trombone Shorty and Preservation Hall. Etc..
Too many recipes, too much music to pick from. Jazz works for me for any meal. I find it easy to make an iTunes playlist for each occasion and let it run for a few hours.

Right now I'm cooking my way to a healed heart so I listen to Florence and the Machine "Dog Days Are Over" REAL LOUD!!!! wooden spoon a-waving, hips a swaying, and grinning until I can't stand it anymore. I think I'm almost there....

Beyondcelery, I'm with you with ESATMZ. The new album especially is such good summer music. We tend to play a random mix of starred favorites on spotify which run the gamut from my indie bands to obscure 60s songs (thanks to XMU's blog radio) to classic rock. Today was all Tool and Puscifer because we had things to get done and that'll do it. Last week I revisited the duchess and the duke for a few days , Alabama Shakes, heartless bastards...aw heck, here's my playlist : http://open.spotify.com....

Giants Baseball, A's Baseball, Sunday Night Baseball (or any other ESPN nationally televised baseball) in that order, usually. And whichever pre-game or post-game show is most interesting, which means anything hosted by Marty Lurie, always, instead of whatever else might be on. And of course I listen to the All-Star Game and all post-season play. When it's not baseball season, I listen to whatever live sports are being broadcast, with hockey always preferred over basketball, and with the clarification that car racing is not a sport. (Please don't tell my brother that I just said that.) And I love listening to radio broadcasts of professional golf events. In fact, I prefer radio to TV for all sports. But I'm very interested in this thread, as my taste in music tends to be classical, with a heavy emphasis on the piano works I studied years ago, which are close to my heart. So you all are giving me ideas for so much to explore. Thank you! ;o)

I specifically noted fleetwood Mac as you noted Stevie nicks. Lol. I will be waiting for the tp..does it come with a remodeled bathroom? If I had mentioned Disturbed. Would that get me a set of bath towels? I also like classical. Mozart is rather inspirational. My husband and I have around 40K songs in our collection.

I have a definite seasonal, emotional attachment to music. I think a good part of this is due to my parents' taste in music which ran the gamut from Bob Dylan to classic showtunes. Summer cooking for me is best suited for, what I consider, easy and bright music. I have an oldies mix on my iPod that love. Songs from the Supremes, the Jackson Five, 5th Dimension as well as music from the Turtles and other bands/singers of the 60's and 70's would be included.

When autumn and winter rolls around, I find myself drawn to lush orchestral arrangements found in artists like Ella Fitzgerald and Barbra Streisand.

I don't want to say that I am stuck in the past. I do love Gaga and many other current artists. And on the non-musical front, I love NPR podcasts such as Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, The Splendid Table, This American Life, and On the Media.

I love music, but find it distracting while cooking. Often I have my children cooking with me. There is something special about having us all in the room, not a word being spoken, and the sound of chopping, tasting, sizzling, wisking, and the occasional giggle.

I am the same when I run or bike, I love the sound of my heart pumping in my ears and my breath.

Funny- I love listening to music when I cook by myself or with my husband, but when my three year old helps she eventually insists on HER music which means we are all cooking to HELLOOOOO EVERYBODY! and I want to stab myself. We do take turns, but it takes a toll!

Is the Thomas Tallis you're referring to the organist of the Royal Chapel during the reigns of four English monarchs (Elizabeth I being the last)? If so, I'm rather fond of his music, too, but I've never cooked to it. I'm quite a fan of the Tallis Scholars, which a writer for "The New York Times" described as "The rock stars of Renaissance vocal music." ;o)